O’Fallon proposing Main Street major renovation project

O’Fallon is proposing to fund a Main Street Phase 1 renovation project for up to $2,425,000.

The work would include sidewalk improvements, street resurfacing and other improvements on Main Street between Pitman Avenue and the railroad tracks just south of the city hall entrance.

The federal government would provide 80% of the costs up to $1,980,000 through their Surface Transportation Program [STP]. The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission [MHTC] administers the federal program, requiring the city to have an agreement with MHTC. City dollars, in the amount of $485,000, to be applied to this project are in O’Fallon’s proposed 2020 budget. Additionally, the project is listed in the city’s 5-year Capital Improvement Plan.

On Sept. 12, a bill sponsored by council members Dave Hinman [Ward 1], Mike Pheney [Ward 5] and Debbie Cook [Ward 5] was read for the first time. The bill [No. 7129] would authorize an agreement between the city of O’Fallon and the MHTC to fund the Main Street Phase 1 project. If typical timing is followed, the bill will receive a second reading and vote for final passage at the Sept. 26 council meeting.

If the bill is approved and the agreement with MHTC is executed by Jan. 31, 2020, public meetings/hearings could occur in August and September of 2020, followed by 18 months of final planning, rights-of-way acquisitions, utility coordination, RFPs, bid reviews and approvals by March 2022, followed by implementation and construction from April 2022 through October 2022 if no significant surprises or delays occur.

John Tremmel

John Tremmel is a freelance news reporter covering O’Fallon government. He has lived in the greater St. Louis area for 45 years, with the past 20 being in O’Fallon. He also lived in Cleveland OH, Dover DE and Atlanta GA. He is a graduate of UMSL evening college, with a BS in Business Administration and a minor in Political Science. John retired after a 46-year career in the banking and insurance industries, including his last seven years as an executive with international responsibilities and considerable travel to other countries. He and his wife have a daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren, also living in O’Fallon. He is happy that his grandchildren now can beat him at golf.